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New Republican Trend: Secret Town Halls

October 19, 2011 by Left in Alabama

I'll bet Mo Brooks (R, AL-05) and Mike Rogers (R, AL-03) wish they'd come up with this method to avoid difficult questions from constituents ...

GOP Rep. Asked Paper To Keep Town Hall Secret, Selected Residents Who Were Invited

The reason for not publishing an advance notice of the meeting was the fear that people from outside the immediate area could come and “just yell” at the congresswoman “whatever’s on their minds,” Bowman said Friday.

“When word gets in the paper, you get a certain set of people,” Bowman said.

People coming to tell their representatives "whatever's on their minds," huh?  How unpleasant that must be for Congresscritters whose job approval rating is barely in double digits.

Vote the bums out!

Lost in Detention Gives Attention to Immigrant Detention and S-Comm but Lacks Alternatives

October 19, 2011 by Vivirlatino

As Bianca posted yesterday, last night PBS’s Frontline featured Lost in Detention with Maria Hinojosa. The hour long investigative show looked at the immigration detention policies that have expanded under the Obama administration, specifically the impact of Secure Communities and the abuses in the ever expanding immigration jail industry. I watched the special report last [...]

Winner and Loser of the Day — Clemens/Scott

October 19, 2011 by Kenneth

Winner: Jeff Clemens — He put forth a proposal to allow the voters to decide the fate of medical marijuana. Unlikely the legislature will pass it, but it’s still the right thing to do.

Loser Rick Scott — Wants to take federal money for education without complying with federal rules about how the money should be spent. In other words, he doesn’t want federal money but wants “credit” for pursuing it.

Around the State

October 19, 2011 by Kenneth

The most recent regular features and roundups from Florida progressive bloggers.

*Round-up of media coverage of redistricting for 10/19 | Saint Petersblog

*South Florida Daily Blog: The Cooler

*South Florida Daily Blog: Your Morning Sift

Post of the Day from Flog Folio

October 19, 2011 by Kenneth

Governor is a vengeful Santa Claus (and nobody knows what’s really in the wastewater):

During the meeting, dioxin levels weren’t debated. But the resolution was attacked as anti-business, and the work of wacko environmentalists. Councilmember Richard Clark characterized any any delays to the pipleine as arbitrary “what-ifs” thrown up by some conspiratorial “environmental lobby.”

State Rep. Lake Ray, (R-Jacksonville) — who just happens to be the new head of the First Coast Manufacturers Association, G-P’s trade group — told the committee members that they’d be creating a bad climate for business if they held up GP any longer. Indeed, Ray invoked the specter of a Scott turned vengeful against anything anti-business. If Love’s resolution passed, Ray predicted, Gov. Scott would punish Jacksonville by withholding money to dredge the St. Johns shipping channel.